For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David.

¹Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?²No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth.³The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.⁴Their poison is like the poison of a snake, like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,⁵which doesn’t listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be.⁶Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, LORD.⁷Let them vanish like water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.⁸Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.⁹Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.¹⁰The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,¹¹so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”